


It’s not because I care

by Yesimevil



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, I haven’t seen much of Legends so, Nightmares, Sleep Deprivation, have fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:08:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22173826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yesimevil/pseuds/Yesimevil
Summary: Mick takes care of Ray after finding him sleep and nutrition deprived in the lab.
Relationships: Ray Palmer & Mick Rory
Comments: 7
Kudos: 36





	It’s not because I care

The mission was a bit of a blur to Mick. He didn’t think he had been drunk, but then again, maybe he had been...

It was supposed to be a simple mission, but when did those ever go well? They had to get something, bring it somewhere, fight someone- typical procedure.

But this time, there was a kid.

Mick didn’t know exactly how they ended up with the kid. All he knew was that the kid was attached to Ray, and the feeling seemed to be mutual. 

But fights are no place for a kid. 

Apparently, listening hadn’t been her strong suit (much like Ray). She didn’t stay where Ray told her to. Mick thought he remembered something chasing her, but he was a bit too focused on burning down the giant, evil squirrel that was trying to eat him.

He _did_ vaguely remember hearing Ray telling her, “You’ll be okay. You’ll be just fine, I promise.”

She wasn’t fine.

The kid had died- there was nothing they could have done. Ray had argued with Sara for nearly a full hour when they got back to the Waverider. It ended with both of them storming away, Sara getting drunk, and Ray disappearing. The next day, Sara showed up late to breakfast, and Ray didn’t show up at all. No one saw him for the rest of the day. They reached an unspoken decision to let him have some space, let him process his grief. The second day repeated the same cycle. On the third day, Mick was surprised to find that the ship was far too quiet without Ray’s talking making him feel the need to kill either Ray or himself. He wandered around for a bit, causally poking his head into the random nooks Ray frequented when he was upset. He wandered for around twenty minutes before remembering that Gideon could help him.

“Gideon, do you know where Ray is?” He asked.

“Yes,” came the reply. Mick frowned.

“Can you tell me where he is?”

“Dr. Palmer has managed to rewrite my circuits so that I am unable to reveal his location. I can, however, guide you by use of the ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ technique.” Mick glared at the ceiling, fuming.

“If you think for one second I’ll play a stupid kids game-“

“It is the only loophole I have found. But please, by all means, continue wandering around the ship aimlessly.” Mick sighed. Gideon had far too much of a personality for a computer.

“Fine.” He gritted out.

“Thank you for agreeing, Mr. Rory. You are cold.” He groaned, moving in a different direction, only for Gideon to inform him that he was getting colder. Half an hour later (after a lot of cursing Gideon and swearing he would kill Ray) he finally arrived at the lab _which_ _made_ _him_ feel _so_ _stupid_ _this_ _should_ _have_ _been_ _the_ _first_ _place_ _he_ _checked_.

The lab... looked as though it had been the host of a tornado. Coffee mugs covered every surface that wasn’t occupied by other random machinery, tools were lying on the ground, and Ray was hunched over at a table. Mick’s heart sank. While some people might choose to believe he was just a dumb hunk of muscle, and even if he wasn’t a nuclear scientist or whatever, he knew his friends well. He could see from the coffee mugs that Ray hadn’t eaten. He could see from the scattered machinery that he hadn’t slept- Ray only got untidy in the lab when he wasn’t focused, when he didn’t get enough sleep. Ray further proved he wasn’t okay by not reacting when Mick loudly walked into the lab. Mick stood in the doorway for a minute before making his presence known with a “Hey.”

Ray jumped, fell off his chair, and let out a startled swear when he heard Mick. Mick was taken aback at how... _awful_ his friend looked. His eyes were glazed, slightly bloodshot, and had bags so dark it looked like he had two black eyes. His limbs were trembling- Mick guessed this was a side effect of not sleeping or eating.

“Sorry, you startled me,” Ray said hoarsely before clearing his throat, relaxing when he saw it was just Mick. He climbed back into his chair, slightly red in the face. Mick opened his mouth to reply, but whatever he was planning to say was replaced by:

“You look like shit.”

Ray let out a humorless laugh.

“Thanks.” He turned around and continued his tinkering. The room fell into a silence again. Mick strained his neck to try and see what Ray was doing.

“What’re you working on?” He asked, already dreading the answer. Ray lit up like an Christmas tree about to burn out, just like he did each time he ranted about something for thirty minutes and _this_ _was_ _a_ _mistake_ _if_ _he_ _ever_ _saw_ _one_ _but_ _he_ _just_ _needed_ _Ray_ _to_ _talk_ -

“I’m trying to build a new atom suit. I don’t have the instructions with me, but I _think-”_

“Didn’t you say you almost killed yourself tying to shrink the first time?” Mick cut him off, brow furrowing. Ray’s excitement faltered and tried to shrug it off.

“I was probably exaggerating.” Mick shook his head.

“I can tell when you exaggerate. This doesn’t seem safe,” he warned. Ray let out a scoff.

“Of course it’s safe! I know what I’m doing.“ He reached out for his coffee mug and grabbed a container of motor oil instead. He realized his mistake when the liquid was halfway to his mouth and his face reddened. He grabbed pliers from across the table and continued working.

“Look, why don’t you just get some sleep and wait until the morning to finish this?” Mick suggested, hoping his friend wouldn’t argue. Ray was quiet for a minute.

“No, I- I don’t have time, I need to be better, I have to-“ his shaking hand dropped the pliers and moved to cover his face. He composed himself quickly, picking the pliers back up and continuing his work. Mick frowned, a ball of worry tightening in his gut, his mind racing to find an answer before he realized-

“ _You’ll_ _be_ _just_ _fine_ , _I_ _promise_.”

Ray’s last words to the kid echoed in his head. Of course Ray would blame himself. He exhaled heavily as he glanced around the lab. Dozens of projects were lying around, each one in a different stage of completion.

“How long have you been down here?” He wondered aloud.

“Two- uh, three days,” came the response. _He_ _had_ _been_ _here_ _the_ _whole_ _time_ , _spiraling_ _into_ _a_ _self_ _destructive_ _pit_ _of_ _guilt_ -

“Maybe you should take a break...” Mick suggested. Ray shook his head, wincing at the motion. It didn’t go unnoticed by Mick, who shifted closer.

“You okay?” He asked. Ray exhaled and tried to bluff.

“Yeah, fine, just a little headache. It’ll go away on its own.” Mick looked Ray over again, taking note of his pale expression.

“You don’t look okay. This got something to do with your fight with Sara?” He ventured carefully. _Did_ _she_ _make_ _you_ _blame_ _yourself?_ Ray’s eyes snapped up quickly.

“No, no. She- no. Nothing she said- no,” he assured, getting up slowly and crossing the room to a cabinet. Mick beat him there and leaned on the cabinet, preventing it from opening. He was well aware how obnoxious he was being, but he needed to get his friend’s attention. Ray let out a groan.

“C’mon man, I have stuff I need to-“

“Look, there’s nothing we could have done.“ Mick said, getting straight to the point. Ray’s expression hardened.

“If I had the suit, there’s a chance I could have saved her.” Ray argued.

“You don’t know that.”

“But there’s a chance-“

“You couldn’t have, and you need to get that through your thick skull before you work yourself to death!” Mick said sharply, a sudden burst of anger exploding in him. Ray rolled his eyes as he shifted his weight.

“That’s ridiculous, I’m not-“

“Yes, you are,” Mick cut him off. “Look at you! You’ve been down here for three days, you haven’t eaten, you haven’t slept-“ Ray opened his mouth to protest but Mick silenced him with an accusing finger- “don’t even _think_ about trying to lie to me. You’re a terrible liar. You need to give it a rest.” Ray tried to open the cabinet again, avoiding looking at the other man, trying to hide the fact that Mick’s words were hitting home. His attempts were futile, and he let his arms fall.

“I... I promised her...” he trailed off, staring at the wall.

“I know you did, but you can’t blame yourself,” Mick said gently. Ray didn’t answer, still staring at the wall.

“Hey Ray, did you hear me?” Mick shook Ray’s shoulder. Ray nodded hesitantly before responding.

“But- What if it happens again? What if I’m not prepared? What if- what if I’m not good enough? If I couldn’t save her, do I even deserve a spot on the team? What am I without the suit? Am I actually contributing to the team? Am I just an annoying weight? I know I talk too much-” His legs buckled and he grabbed for the counter, knocking over a piece of equipment that looked delicate. He didn’t even flinch when it hit the ground and shattered. Mick started and grabbed Ray to support him. Ray pushed him away, trying to push himself off the counter. His legs decided they were done working for the day and he fell ungracefully, sliding down the side of the counter with a thud. His next words were so quiet that Mick had to strain his ears to catch them.

“What if next time it’s one of you guys? What if I’m not good enough-“

“Hey!” Mick smacked Ray’s shoulder roughly, halting his friend’s rant. “You need to stop that. She’s gone. You couldn’t have done anything.” Ray flinched slightly at Mick’s words, but Mick knew that his friend needed to hear the harsh truth. Ray ran his hand through his hair, blinking rapidly. The emotional turmoil of the past few days caught up with him, andhe broke down, hiding his face in the crook of his arm as sobs flowed out. Mick glanced around a bit awkwardly, at a loss of what to do. He had never been good with crying people. All he ever did was make it worse. What was he supposed to- oh _no._

He was going to have to hug him.

He suppressed a groan and lowered himself down next to Ray, slowly pulling him into a hug. Ray clung to him instantly, and he almost felt... happy, that he could offer his friend some comfort.

“It wasn’t your fault, got that? It wasn’t your fault,” he said quietly. He inwardly berated himself for not checking in on Ray earlier. He had forgotten that his friends needed protection not only from outside forces, but also from themselves. Especially Ray.

Mick tightened his hug.

————————————

Eventually Ray’s sobs subsided. Mick continued holding him for a bit, and eventually craned his neck to look at his face and- yeah, he was asleep. He groaned, debating waking him up. On one hand, if he woke him then he wouldn’t have to deal with the snoozing ball of limbs, but then again- 

“Gideon, when was the last time he slept?” He called out. He hoped the AI knew he wasn’t asking because he cared... he wasn’t. 

“Dr. Palmer has not slept for 74 hours and 23 minutes,” Gideon replied promptly. Mick cursed inwardly. “However, he has not received a full night’s sleep in over two weeks. He has experienced numerous night terrors and denies my suggestion of medication, choosing instead to work in the lab.” She sounded rather put off. Mick glanced down at his peacefully sleeping friend. He himself was no stranger to nightmares, and the thought of Ray sitting alone in the cold lab-

He sighed, allowing himself to feel sentimental for a moment- but only a moment, as he gently brushed his hand over Ray’s head. He couldn’t help the tugging he felt on his heartstrings, if hearts could even have strings. This team, this _family_ had given him a second chance, and somehow wormed their way to his heart- he snorted. He was getting soft, but... he couldn’t bring himself to care.

His leg was cramping. He would have to make a decision about Ray soon. 

“Gideon, if you tell _anyone_ about this I’ll permanently disconnect you from the ship,” he threatened as he scooped up Ray easily- had he lost weight? He was almost _too_ light. It was like picking up a sack of feathers. He cradled him near his chest, careful not to wake him. If Ray woke up now, Mick would never live this down.

“I would never dream of betraying your trust, Mr. Rory.” Gideon replied, but Mick could have sworn the thing was laughing. He maneuvered his way out of the lab, running into a difficult situation when he reached the doorway- why were Ray’s legs so _fucking_ _long_ -

“I hope you know I wouldn’t do this for anyone else, you little-“ Mick’s mutterings were cut off as he rounded to corner of the hallway and ran into Sara. 

“Hey- shit, is he okay?” Sara exclaimed, registering that Ray wasn’t moving and fearing the worst. Mick froze, looking strikingly similar to a deer that was caught in headlights. 

“He... he fell asleep and...” he trailed off as a smirk grew on Sara’s face. 

“Don’t say anything-“ 

“Wow, look at you!” 

“I’m serious-“ 

“You actually care! How sweet!” She continued in a teasing tone.

“Mention this to _anyone_ , and I’ll fry your face off,” he growled. Sara raised her hands in surrender. 

“Hey, I’m just glad you got him out of the lab. He doesn’t take care of himself when he’s down there.” Mick gave a grunt of agreement. Sara shifted. 

“How... how long was he down there?” She asked tentatively.

“Three days.” He saw a look of guilt cross Sara’s face, and added, “nothing you said made him do it.” She nodded, still unsure. Ray’s arm slipped down and Sara reached forward to replace it. Once she was closer, she noticed the tear tracks that lined his face. Her eyes snapped up to meet Mick’s, worry flooding back in faster than lightning could strike.

“Is he-“ 

“He’s...” Mick struggled to find the right words. “He’s emotional.” He decided gruffly. “He blames himself for the kid.” Sara’s expression melted into one of sympathy.

“I knew he would take it hard but- after our fight, I wanted to give him some space, you know?” Her eyes searched Mick’s, a silent plea for him to understand. He nodded. Ray twitched in his arms. 

“You should get him to his bed before he wakes up,” Sara said with a grin. Mick glared at her and continued on his way, reaching Ray’s room quickly. He deposited Ray onto the bed unceremoniously and turned to leave, his work done. 

As he was passing through the doorway, a strangled shout came from the bed. Mick whipped his head around. Ray was writhing on the bed, nostrils flaring and small nosies of distress coming from him. Mick did _not_ rush back over to the bed in an instant. He didn’t. His hands hovered above Ray, uncertain of what to do. He had never been in this situation before. 

“Gideon?” He called out gruffly, “what- what should I do?” 

“It would be unwise to wake Dr. Palmer at the moment, as he has the tendency to lash out violently in his fragile state. I would suggest not waking him unless he were to injure himself.“ Ray’s hand flew toward the nightstand, knocking a glass against the lamp with so much force that it shattered- “Now would be wise.” Gideon commented. Mick let his arms rise and fall in exasperation. He didn’t know how to do this. He shook Ray rapidly. 

“Hey, Ray! Wake up!” He yelled. Ray woke up. And immediately punched him in the face. It wasn’t a hard punch, but it held enough force to make him stagger back. Recognition flooded through Ray’s face in seconds. 

“Oh shit- I’m sorry Mick, I didn’t mean to-“ his hand reached up to rub his face- the hand with the glass stuck in it. Mick caught his wrist quickly. Ray glanced down at his hand and his eyes shot back up immediately in panic. 

“What-“

“Clam down, haircut. You smashed the glass.” Ray’s eyes snapped over to the nightstand. 

“Shit- shit, I’m sorry- I uh, I’ll clean it up-“ Mick tightened his grip on Ray’s wrist as his friend tried to reach for the shattered glass. 

“First we gotta take care of your hand.” Ray nodded distractedly and swung his legs over the side of the bed, attempting to stand. His legs buckled and he went down, Mick’s hand around his wrist the only thing semi-holding him up.

“You good?” Mick asked as he helped him up. Ray nodded. 

“Yeah, I’m just dizz-“ he leaned over suddenly, his stomach attempting to eject its contents. He had no contents, so he ended up dry retching, coughing and shuddering as he leaned heavily on Mick.

“Sorry- I’m sorry, I-“ 

“Are you done?” 

“I think so.” 

“Good.” Mick led Ray to the medbay, supporting a majority of his weight. It was slow progress, but they made it. Mick dropped Ray in a chair and leaned against the wall. 

“Gideon, what can you do?” He asked. 

“I can supply Dr. Palmer with an anti- nausea pill.” A drawer opened up, revealing a pill and a small cup of water. Gideon continued as Ray took the pill. “However, I’m afraid the shards are too small for me to extract. The removal will require the precision of a human.” Ray fumbled for the tweezers and tried to tell Mick that he could do it himself. Mick rolled his eyes and grabbed the tweezers, sitting down. 

Ray didn’t make a noise the entire time. He winced once or twice when Mick applied the antiseptic, but his constant ramblings were gone. Mick would never _ever_ admit this, but it was a bit unnerving. He glanced up at his friend’s face. Ray was staring at the corner of the room, eyes slightly glazed, lost in his thoughts. Mick finished and wrapped Ray’s hand in a bandage. 

“Go sleep. Or eat.” he grunted. Ray shook his head, swallowing thickly. 

“I’m just gonna head to the lab.“ He started to rise. Mick grabbed him by the wrist and yanked him back down into the seat. 

“Like hell you will. You’ve reached your lab limit for the day. The next three days, in fact.” Ray snorted. 

“I have a lab limit now?” 

“Until you can limit yourself, then yeah.” 

“I’m not a kid-“ 

“The don’t act like one.” 

“I just need to-“ 

“Haircut, are the words ‘take a break’ ‘rest’ or ‘relax’ in your vocabulary?” Ray rolled his eyes.

“There are things I have to-“ Mick cut him off with a bark of laughter. 

“You can’t walk straight, how do you expect to do ‘things’?” He said the word “things” in a mocking tone. Ray threw a glare at him. 

“I can walk fine,” he said sourly. Mick crossed his arms and leaned back. 

“Go ahead then.” Ray got out of his chair slowly, a determined look on his face. He made it about five shaky steps across the floor before his legs gave out and he fell in a crumpled heap.

“You were saying?” Mick asked. Ray let out a groan and made an attempt to get up, his arms shaking for the effort. Mick rose quickly to help him. 

“Easy haircut, don’t hurt yourself.” He helped Ray to his feet, and led him out to the hallway that would bring them to the kitchen. After a minute, Ray broke the silence. 

“I- I’m sorry for hitting you, I didn’t-“ 

“It’s fine,” Mick grunted. Ray shook his head. 

“No, I should’ve-“ 

“Should’ve what?” Mick cut in. “Should’ve known it was me? Should’ve not had a bad dream? Should’ve controlled your subconscious better?” Ray shrugged. 

“Yeah, something like that.” Mick rolled his eyes. 

“Look, I’ve done the same thing.” He could feel Ray’s eyes searching his face.

“You have- sorry, uh- sorry, never mind,” Ray broke off, sensing he might cross a line. Mick sighed. He had already exposed himself more than he was comfortable with, but- he was willing to be a _little_ more vulnerable if it would help the kid. 

“Yeah. I have bad dreams. Everyone does.” His eyes met Ray’s briefly, slightly apprehensive of judgement he might find, but all Ray’s eyes held were- fuck, how did he look like a puppy so easily? They fell into silence again. 

“Where are we going?” Ray asked after a minute. 

“Kitchen. You need some food.”

“Mick, I’m fine,” Ray protested, weakly trying to pull away. Mick tighten his grip. 

“You were down there for three days without eating.” 

“I _did_ eat.” 

“Really? You ate more than coffee?” Ray looked down, cheeks flushing. 

“No,” he muttered.

“Seems to me like you don’t have much of a choice. Now stop struggling unless you want to be carried,” he threatened. Ray wisely decided to go where he was led.

Mick deposited Ray in a chair and yanked open the fridge. This kid needed to learn how to take care of himself it wasn’t _his_ _fucking_ _job_ \- 

He slammed a cup of applesauce down in front of Ray.

“Eat,” he demanded.

“I’m not a kid-“

“I already told you to stop acting like a kid if you aren’t one, now eat.” 

Ray picked up his spoon with a glare and slowly made his way through his food. Mick pretended to fiddle with a plant in the corner, but he watched Ray like a hawk and didn’t relax until the applesauce was gone. Once he had cleaned up, Ray said, “I guess I’ll head back to bed now,” and started down the hallway, leaning on the wall. Mick watched him and let out a sigh. 

“Ray.” 

“Hmm?” 

“Bed’s the other way. That way’s the lab.” Ray froze for a second before clumsily attempting to make a dash for it. Mick rolled his eyes and caught up to him in three strides, catching his friend around the middle 

“Mick- c’mon, I just need to check on one thing-“

“Kid- stop squirming- give it a rest. I’m not letting you sneak back to the lab,” he said firmly.

“That’s ridiculous! Why would I do that?” Ray bluffed. Mick rolled his eyes for what felt like the eighth time that minute. 

“I’m not gonna answer that. Never play poker, you can’t lie to save your life.” He dragged Ray over to the TV and dumped him on the couch. Ray pouted, and as soon as Mick turned around he tried to run, but fell. Mick snorted and pulled him back up onto the couch.

“I always have to listen to you babbling about stupid lab projects, this is payback,” he said with an evil grin, turning on the TV to football. Ray groaned, but didn’t try to get back up. He was asleep in minutes. His head fell onto Mick’s shoulder, causing Mick to stiffen- but he made no attempt to move his sleeping friend. Around half an hour later, Sara poked her head in. 

“Gideon filled me in,” she explained. Mick glared at the ceiling. 

“My apologies, Mr. Rory. It is my job to inform Captain Lance if one of her crew becomes injured.” Gideon apologized. Mick’s narrowed his eyes, not believing the AI. He glanced back at Sara, who had to sickening ‘aww’ look on her face. 

“I’m not doing this because I care,” he assured her. She nodded condescendingly. 

“Yes, I know,” she said patronizingly. Mick bristled, and turned back to his game. His head whipped around again when he heard the click of a camera. Sara had a ‘cat got the canary’ look on her face as she put her camera away. 

“Delete that!” He growled. She shrugged. 

“Sure, just come over here and I’ll do it. And since you don’t care, all you have to do is... move him.” He gave her a mighty glare. She was trying to trap him. 

“I don’t care,” he insisted through gritted teeth. 

“Really? It’s such a cute picture!” She taunted. 

“I’m going to melt all the skin from your bones,” he threatened. She smirked in disbelief. 

“Sure, then why haven’t you gotten up yet?” 

“For... another reason...” he struggled to find the reason. Sara’s infuriatingly self-satisfied smile grew. 

“Oh? And will you share that reason with me?” She asked. Ray jerked on the couch, letting out a small noise of distress. Mick automatically reached out to soothe him

“I’ll let you know when I think of it,” he muttered, letting his gaze linger on his friend. He looked up at a tap on his shoulder, and Sara showed him the photo being deleted. She gave him a genuine smile and squeezed his shoulder before she left. He returned his focus to his game, and then realized- 

“Gideon, she didn’t delete that from the deleted folder, did she?” He asked.

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Rory.” 

“Damnit,” he muttered.

“If I may, she was correct in saying that it was a ‘cute’ photograph,” Gideon replied cheerfully. Mick glared at the ceiling. 

“I’ll destroy all your circuits,” he threatened.

“Of course, Mr. Rory.”

He turned back to his game again, wondering why even the ship’s computer was out to get him. They sat there for half an hour. Mick had forgotten just how enjoyable football was, and his team was about to score- he was broken from his football trance by a choked shout. His eyes snapped down to Ray, who was in the midst of a nightmare. Before he could react, his friend shot up, eyes wide and unseeing, breathing too fast. He flinched away when Mick reached out a hand to try to calm him. 

“Hey, haircut, calm down, it was a dream,” he tried. He wasn’t good at comforting people. Ray’s eyes seemed to clear. 

“Mick?” His voice sounded so small, so quiet- 

“Yeah, it’s me.” Ray’s eyes darted around. 

“I’m sor-“ Mick groaned. 

“Stop apologizing, kid.” He grunted. Ray nodded and settled down on the couch. He stared at the TV without watching it, and his leg kept jiggling anxiously. After a while, his eyes started drooping shut again, but each time he jerked himself back awake. After the fifth time this happened Mick sighed. 

“Why don’t you just go to sleep?” He asked. Ray shrugged. 

“Not tired.” They both knew that was a lie. Mick looked over at his friend and saw a familiar feeling in his eyes- he was _scared_ , to go back to sleep. He didn’t want to go back to seeing whatever it was that haunted his dreams. Mick took a moment to work up some courage- caring about friends when they were unconscious was one thing, but _letting_ _them_ _know_ \- that was another. The next time Ray went through his shaky sleep cycle, Mick carefully pulled him over to rest on his shoulder, thankful that Ray was already half asleep. 

“Thanks Mick,” Ray mumbled as he drifted off, relaxing into his friend’s shoulder. Mick never knew until that moment that it only took two words to completely melt his heart. He hesitantly draped his arm around the kid. 

“Don’t mention it.” Mick wasn’t sure if he meant it as a threat or not. But Ray didn’t mention it the next day, or the next week. Or the next month when Mick found Ray in the lab, alone, having a panic attack after a nightmare and he talked him down. They didn’t mention it when they were on a mission together and Mick dreamed of everyone he cared about burning, and Ray pulled him out and quietly sat with him until morning. It wasn’t mentioned when Mick willingly hugged Ray for the first time, smacking him in the head before clutching him tightly after he pulled some stupid stunt- although Sara had a hard time letting him live it down. They didn’t mention how they would gravitate towards the other when they needed someone, they didn’t mention how eventually when one had a nightmare, they would both somehow end up on the couch.

Maybe Mick was getting soft- but eventually, he decided that he would let himself be soft occasionally. 

Not because he cared about his friends, of course.

Because he loved them.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you caught any typos or if anyone didn’t seem to be in character!


End file.
